Ha ha... NO. Didn't they say they were shipping by the end of the year? Since it is already October, you'd think Flex would have something more to show of the Flex-6000 though. No working hardware and no working software. They have a lot of work to do in two months!

Maybe they are re-designing the 13.8 volt CB PA and are busy working on an adaptive pre-distortion high voltage FET PA. I heard that there is shortage of CB bipolar transistors from Japan because of nuclear accident, maybe thats the reason for the Flex 6000 delay.

Maybe they are re-designing the 13.8 volt CB PA and are busy working on an adaptive pre-distortion high voltage FET PA. I heard that there is shortage of CB bipolar transistors from Japan because of nuclear accident, maybe thats the reason for the Flex 6000 delay.

That's even more hilarious! The Flex 'engineers' could not even pull off the long promised class A mode for their Flex-5000a PA. Does anyone remember that broken promise by Flex?

At the Belton Ham Expo... no sign of a working Flex-6000 SDR yet. Just a pretty mock up again.

Gene

That's one of the reasons I consoled myself by buying a super clean, Yaesu FT-1000MP MKV yesterday at Belton!! Fantastic working rig. And a TON of features to boot. But, no Slice Receiversanywhere in sight. One of their employees was set up next to Flex's displays and he was working hard to sell me his FT-1000D. I almost took him up on it too!! But, the MKVlooked good too. And it helped a SK's widow. (she was at the hamfest and I knew she needed the money......so that part was for a good cause in my book) Anyway, the employee that was trying his best to sell me his 1000D, said that the "Signature Series" 6000's that were pre-ordered, should be available by the end of the year. Manufacturing is taking place down the road from Flex in Austin. And that general availability after that, "probably" won't be until March 2013. I'm still glad I did not pre-order the 6500 , that I had seriously thought about getting. But, I could not really see putting $1,200 deposit down on something I have yet to see a WORKING demo of. Call me silly, but, that's just the way I roll ! jamesWD5GWY

... And it helped a SK's widow. (she was at the hamfest and I knew she needed the money......so that part was for a good cause in my book)...jamesWD5GWY

OT -- What a fantastic idea! Perhaps I will also have that opportunity one day and will remember your act of generosity by paying top dollar for an SK's equipment. Thanks!

73 ES GOD BLESS YOU ES URS DE KEN N4OI [/quote]Thank you Ken. It really doesn't hurt to help someone like that sometimes. Especially when it is obvious that they need the money and in this lady's case, she had a lot of medical expenses etc. from her husband's death. Good luck and I hope you do find that special something sometime for yourself and at the same time it helps someone else.jamesWD5GWY

I spent more time at the coax booth next to Flex. That was some good stuff. Direct burial coax with high quality connectors for just a few bucks more than the equivalent Chinese molded crap.

This was my first Belton trip, and the first time in many hamfests that I didn't see even ONE radio, new or used, that I wanted to buy. I stupidly passed up a really nice military mast set. 40' of heavy aluminum tapered end poles, guys, stakes and a carry cage for the whole thing. Field Day perfect. $40 I am getting lazy in my old age. All I could think was,, "I'm gonna have to lug this thing to the car..." Mentally kicked myself in the butt (not hard for me, due to the apparent proximity of brain) all the way home..

Sorry you didn't find any goodies!!! There certainly were a ton of them out there.But, finding exactly what you want and in the condition you want, can be a challenge sometimes. I've wanted a FT-1000MP MKV for a long time. But, they were usually priced way out of my comfort zone (budget) or in sad shape. This time, things clicked for me. I saw several things that "tempted" me. But, I resisted, knowing that I really was hoping for what I ended up with. Had there been a Collins 75A4 receiver in good condition, in my price range, I would have probably bought it, instead of the Yaesu. For some reason, I see those when I am low on money! (having just spent what would have made it possible to buy one) I love hamfests and Belton has to be one of my favorites. Some of the local ones here in North Texas (not counting HAMCOM or Cowtown Hamfest) are getting pretty small, with less and less attendance. I really hope that changes. No fun when they go away............... jamesWD5GWY

No doubt!!! But, according to the guys helping the lady sell herhusband's equipment, the radio has had that mod done to it. It is a late production rig, built in late 2005. I don't do CW muchanymore because of my hearing. CW tones seem to fall right intoa pitch that can be tough for me to hear. (also have Tinnitus and the ringing and pitch is enough to mask some CW for me) I'm slowly learning this radio. And want to add some filters to ittoo. The stock filters and DSP stuff, works pretty well. But, a bit morewould help. When I do try and do CW, I have a nice TenTec Jupiter that is greaton CW. Thanks for the info. I really do like W8JI's website. A lot of info there.jamesWD5GWY

No doubt!!! But, according to the guys helping the lady sell herhusband's equipment, the radio has had that mod done to it. It is a late production rig, built in late 2005.

James you should be good with that unit. Yaesu finally implemented a production change in August 2004 to fix the click issue. Unfortunately that didn't fix the thousands of existing units beginning with the FT-1000D in 1999. What a shame it took them 15 years to address the severe clicks they had, and never did a recall or even admitted the problem!

The Flex people were at this past weekend's Pacific Division/ARRL National Convention and all they had was a static display model of the 6000. No working model.

I asked the company rep about this and he said the hardware and firmware are done and the remaining work is on the GUI that runs on the PC. Seems to me if that's the case, they should have been able to show something more than just a box with a clear plastic cover...

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